During the first part of each course I spend some time trying to get students used to small talk. It is one of the things that is significantly different between cultures, and if I don’t work on that then I can expect a one way conversation for the remainder of the course, and that is both hard work and unrealistic.
So I push the students to carry their side of the conversation. I teach them the question words, about turning a question around on their speaking partner, and using “why” questions to buy themselves more thinking time. It takes a long time for them to get used to this style, but usually by the end of the course they are much better at pulling their weight in simple conversations. It is a skill that isn’t measured by TOEIC or Eiken, but it is very apparent when they sit down with vendors or customers from English-speaking countries.
One of my students from last year was really surprised how much small talk actually goes on. He was hosting some people from America for more than a week, and he had prepared just two topics for small talk. Those wrapped up pretty quick, and he spent the rest of the visit hoping he wouldn’t have to speak to any Americans. He said that the Americans were small-talking all the time – walking to meetings, after the meetings, in the elevator, around the factory, even in the bathroom. I got the idea that they pretty much exhausted my student with all the small talk. Comparatively, in Japan it is usually a few lines about the weather and then it is on to business. Big difference.
Friday is here, and I’m looking forward to the weekend. I was pretty tired out coming home yesterday, so I think I need to get some rest this weekend, maybe do some gardening if the weather is good, and just relax. We’ll see how that plan works out…
